At Least Three Packs a Day
by Marauder Number Fiive
Summary: Lily has an addiction and Alice is not happy about it. James approaches Lily about her problem and interesting results are found. R&R!


**I don't own Harry Potter.**

"Lily put the pack down!" Alice's loud voice carried down from the girls' seventh year dorms to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"NEVER!" the Head Girl screeched.

Down below, the Gryffindors heard several loud bangs coming from what sounded like an intense chase between the Head Girl and her best friend. After several moments, there came complete silence.

This silence was interrupted by a tiny red headed girl flying down the stairs as fast as her small legs would carry her. Frazzled, she stopped at the bottom of the stairs, eyes darting back and forth to plan her escape route. Her hands were clutched at her chest, protectively hiding her treasured pack.

There came a high pitched frustrated scream from above, followed by the sound of someone storming down the stairs at a rapid pace.

Extremely scared for her life and her pack, Lily hastily stuffed it in the left pocket of her robe and quickly dove under a table where several Fourth Years were reviewing their Potions essays.

A livid Alice D'Andrea appeared at the bottom of the staircase, her hair literally cackling from pure anger. "LILIANNE JENNIFER EVANS," she screamed. "IT IS ONE THING TO BE ADDICTED TO THOSE NASTY THINGS, BUT IT IS ANOTHER ENTIRELY TO LOCK ME IN YOUR TRUNK SO YOU CAN ESCAPE FROM ME."

"Where is she?" Alice snarled at a Second Year. He quickly pointed to the table where Lily was hiding. The Fourth Years immediately scattered, terrified of what the older witch could do to them.

Lily darted from under the table and into the corner, her left hand never leaving her pocket, undoubtedly to protect her precious pack.

"Lily, give me them," Alice commanded in a soft voice. "Look at you, you're addicted. They will destroy you."

"How so?" Lily asked nervously.

"They make you so jittery, you're shaking constantly! You go through at least three packs a day, it's unhealthy," Alice said. "Not to mention they're so expensive."

"No they're not," Lily quiped. "I know where I can get six packs for two galleons."

"Lily that's not the point," Alice said tiredly. "This has gone on for long enough. You've been hooked on these nasty things for almost two years now. Enough is enough."

Lily hesitated, but stuck her right hand into her pocket. "Alice...I'm so sorry," she said sadly as she pulled out the contents of her right pocket. "But you give me no choice. _Stupefy!_" And with that, Alice D'Andrea was left stunned on the floor while Lily sprinted out of the Common Room.

"Well that was...weird," the Second Year Alice had traumatized commented. The rest of the room grumbled their agreement and continued on with their work with the exception of one black haired boy who silently left the tower in search for someone who he urgently needed to talk to.

**xXx**

"Prongs. Prongs! PRONGS!" Sirius screamed down the hallway. His best friend finally heard him and shot him a lazy smile, stopping so he could catch up.

"What's up Padfoot?" he asked.

"Damn you deer, you're deaf!" Sirius cried. "I had been following you for nearly five minutes!"

"Sorry Padfoot, I was just thinking about -"

"Lily, yes yes I know," Sirius cut off his love struck mate. "About her. She has a problem."

"What is she hurt? Where is she?" James asked frantically pulling out the map.

"She's not hurt yet mate. But she might be soon if you don't go help her. She and D'Andrea just had a row in the Common Room about her addiction. Apparently Evans smokes at least three packs a day...you should really go talk to her. You guys have been getting pretty close lately."

"Lily...smokes?" James asked confusedly. "But she...she doesn't seem like the type...The Lily Evans?"

Sirius just nodded his head. "For about two years now."

"...I never knew. Thanks Sirius. I should go find her." With a determined look in his eyes, James glanced at the map and ran off to find Lily.

**xXx**

It was around nine o'clock on a Saturday night and Lily Evans sat alone on top of the Astronomy Tower. She popped open a new pack and stuck one of the things inside of her mouth. No matter what Alice said, she loved them. She just didn't understand how amazingly wonderful they could be. The sweet, tangy flavor in her mouth, Lily simply adored her little treats.

Alice was always going on about how unhealthy her hobby was. Lily didn't really understand what the big deal was. Plenty of other people used them all the time and they were living just fine. And Lily had really been trying to cut back lately. When she first started during Fifth Year, she went through at least ten packs a day. Now she only went through at least three. It's not like that was a lot or anything though. Seeing there were only about 24 pieces in each box, she really only took about 72 a day. Except on weekends of course, when she needed that little extra energy. And Mondays were horrible so she always took some more just to help her get through the week. Then there was always that off day when she needed a boost. But really, she could quit any time she wanted to.

Just as Lily popped yet another into her mouth, she heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs of the tower. Quickly, she stuffed the small box into her left pocket and pulled out her wand in case it was Alice seeking revenge.

"Whoa there Evs," a deep voice came. Lily sighed in relief, but didn't drop her wand. James was one of the best duelers in their year. "No need to raise your wand to me. I come in peace."

Somewhat trusting him, Lily lowered her wand. But even in the dark light of the night James could tell that her fingers still had the piece of wood in a death grip. "What's up James?" she asked, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

James took a seat besides her. Sighing, he started, "Lily, Sirius told me about your addiction. He saw you and Alice in the Common Room."

Lily said nothing, but popped yet another into her mouth. Everyone always used that horrible word - addiction. She thought it as an acquired taste that she quite liked so she tasted it at every moment possible.

James was still rambling on about how harmful smoking was when Lily grew bored of his monologue. She couldn't help it - her treats gave her so much energy. To entertain herself, she rattled her box, enjoying the sound it made.

"Lily are those them?" James asked curiously. Lily nodded her head happily as she sucked in on yet another. "Can I ... try one?" he asked warily.

Lily gave a devilish grin and said, "Welcome to the dark side James."

**xXx**

An hour later, James was walking down an empty corridor, working on a pack of his own. Lily had introduced him to this new fabulous thing and he was hooked immediately. He adored the sweet, tangy flavor that was left in his mouth and craved it whenever it was gone.

Sticking yet another in his mouth, he started to feel the newly familiar feeling of the energy coursing through him. Tonight was just a fabulous night. Doing a little jump out of happiness, he ran smack into Alice as he turned the corner.

"Oh James thank Merlin I ran into you!" she blabbered. "Sirius told me you were going to talk to Lily about her problem, I've been looking for you guys for ages. Don't you agree with me, isn't her addiction a problem? I mean that nasty, citrus flavor, our entire dorm reeks of it!"

As Alice went on, James had a cheery smile on his face. "Sorry Alice, but I must agree with my new girlfriend. Tic Tacs won't kill you."

Alice groaned at the familiar sound of little mints rattling around in the small plastic box. "Not you too!"

**Hehehe Lily doesn't smoke, she's addicted to orange Tic Tacs! One of my best friends, Jen, has this problem. She literally goes through at least 3 packs a day. That's where I got the idea for this story from. I love youuu Jen! I'll love the rest of you too if you reviewwww!**

**Isabel**


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